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The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on the Epping hotel ruling: asylum seekers must not be treated as pariahs in a Faragian Britain
Asked on the radio what should happen to asylum seekers accommodated in a Hertfordshire hotel, if a court were to rule that they must be moved out, the Conservative leader of Broxbourne Council, Corina Gander, said flatly: 'That's the government's problem.' Ms Gander had indicated that she would seek to challenge the use of the hotel following Epping council's successful legal precedent. Other local authorities will surely follow suit. As Britain's immigration debate turns ever more ugly, that is a problem for the nation as well as the government. Far-right groups were energetically involved in this summer's protests outside the Essex hotel, which followed the arrest of an Ethiopian asylum seeker for alleged sexual offences. The high court ruling has handed them a major opportunity that they will certainly seize. Home Office lawyers were stating the obvious when warning that Mr Justice Eyre's decision to grant the council's shutdown request 'ran the risk of acting as an impetus for further violent protests'. Cue Nigel Farage. While posing as a benign patriot in the saloon bar, Reform UK's leader continues to do his utmost to foment social discord in the hope of political gain. His call for nationwide demonstrations 'to get the illegal immigrants out', in the wake of the Epping ruling, underlines that the migrant debate in Britain is now more toxic than at any point since the 1970s. The repeated targeting of accommodation this summer and last has, thankfully, yet to result in a tragedy. But the kind of rhetoric now being deployed against young, male asylum seekers by senior politicians across the right is making one more likely. Against such a dismal backdrop, Labour finds itself in a deeply invidious position. It is possible that a judicial review of the Epping case in the autumn may overturn Mr Justice Eyre's ruling. Failing that, the government is likely to need alternative forms of accommodation for thousands of refugees far sooner than it intended, having already pledged to end the use of hotels by 2029. Relying on private contractors to move more asylum seekers into flats and houses, in an already overheated rental sector, will create its own tensions. The memory of the notorious Manston holding centre – now the subject of an independent inquiry into allegations of overcrowding, abuse and misconduct – should act as a cautionary tale amid rightwing calls for 'detention camps'. As a first strategic step, Labour should activate coming break clauses with the three main private providers that governments have relied upon. The successful integration of asylum seekers into communities requires a level of public planning and local investment that has been woefully absent. Epping must be the catalyst for a new settlement with affected councils, involving a far more collaborative approach and a considerably more engaged state. Most importantly, perhaps, ministers must begin to make an unabashed moral case for compassion towards vulnerable and exposed human beings. Mr Justice Eyre's unanticipated decision, made on the grounds of preventing further disruptive demonstrations in Epping, will have the likely effect of amplifying protests elsewhere. Among a significant minority of the population, refugees are increasingly being treated as a pariah group, undeserving of empathy and assistance. That is not how the majority of Britons think. In testing times, Labour needs to speak more loudly on their behalf and trust its own better instincts.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
More England councils plan to challenge asylum hotels after Essex ruling
Councils across England are weighing up their own legal challenges after a high court ruling blocked people seeking asylum from being housed in an Essex hotel. The Conservative-run Broxbourne council in Hertfordshire said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency' on whether it could follow the example of neighbouring Epping Forest district council, which successfully applied for an injunction to stop asylum seekers being accommodated at the Bell hotel in the town. Corina Gander, the leader of Broxbourne council, said a hotel in the town of Cheshunt put 'an enormous strain on local services'. 'We are going to be looking at the ruling of Epping yesterday and we will be expecting to go down the same path as Epping,' the Conservative councillor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Gander said her council had previously tried to get legal advice to block the hotel, but had not been successful. 'What Epping have done is they have really set a precedent for local councils,' she added. Ministers are braced for such legal challenges, as the government is working on contingency plans to house asylum seekers. The security minister, Dan Jarvis, told Times Radio: 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Asked whether other migrant hotels had the proper planning permission, Jarvis said: 'Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) district council have. 'I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. That's precisely why the government has made a commitment that, by the end of this parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.' The ruling has been seized on by Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, who said the party's 12 councils would also consider such challenges. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Farage said those authorities would do 'everything in their power' to replicate Epping's approach, describing the case as a template for resistance to the Home Office's use of hotels. Jarvis, a home office minister, said he believed 'the very worst politicians' tried to drive people apart, when asked on Sky News about Farage's opinion piece in the Telegraph on Wednesday about hotels housing asylum seekers. He told the broadcaster: 'I haven't read Mr Farage's op-ed, but I've always thought that the best politicians try and bring people together, and the very worst politicians try and drive them apart. The decision followed weeks of far-right protests in Epping, including clashes outside the Bell hotel, where an asylum seeker has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. The judge gave the Home Office until 12 September to stop housing asylum seekers at the site. The Home Office had argued that granting an injunction risked setting a precedent and warned it could hinder its legal duty to provide accommodation. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, used the case to call for tougher measures to halt Channel crossings. Writing in the Daily Express he said 'every illegal arrival must be removed, every loophole must be closed' to prevent other towns being put in a similar position. Not all Conservative councils are rushing to the courts, however. The leader of South Norfolk council, Daniel Elmer, said his authority would instead use planning rules to ensure hotels in this area housed families rather than single men. 'If we can punish people who put up sheds in their gardens without permission, then we can take action against hotels being converted into hostels,' he said. According to recent Home Office figures, there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that insiders at the Home Office had admitted the department had been left 'reeling' by the ruling. The department is obliged to house asylum seekers until their cases are assessed.
